CUSTOMIZED VIRTUAL CATALOG

• US 20100042484A1
• Filed: 08/13/2008
• Published: 02/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BEL USA, LLC
• Original Assignee: Branderscom Incorporated (Branders Corporation)
• Inventors: McLaughlin, Gerald, Sipes, David D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,335,724 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.400
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering

Abstract

Various embodiments include an apparatus comprising a server operable to generate a customized virtual catalog including a plurality of composite images, wherein at least one of the plurality of composite images includes an image of a promotional product decorated using a decorative image associated with a client requesting access to the customized virtual catalog.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a server operable to generate a customized virtual catalog including one or more composite images, wherein at least one of the one or more composite images includes an image of a promotional product decorated using a decorative image associated with a client requesting access to the customized virtual catalog.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a default decorative logo associated with the client requesting access to the customized virtual catalog is the decorative image that appears on the at least one or more of the composite images when the customized virtual catalog is generated.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a default decorative logo associated with the client requesting access to the customized virtual catalog is the decorative image that appears on every one of a plurality of composite images when the customized virtual catalog is generated to include a plurality of composite images.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the server includes a database server operable to couple the server to a customer database, the customer database storing an image file for at least one default logo associated with the client requesting access to the customized virtual catalog.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a default decorative logo associated with the client requesting access to the customized virtual catalog appears on each of one or more images of promotional products that belong to a particular category of promotional products.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the server includes a compositing engine operable to generate the plurality of composite images, each of the composite images including the image of the promotional product decorated using a default logo as the decorative image associated with the client requesting access to the customized virtual catalog.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the server includes a customer database operable to store information associated with one or more clients authorized to access server 120 and to request generation of the customized virtual catalog, wherein the information associated with any given one of the one or more clients includes a default logo associated with the given one of the one or more clients.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the information associated with each particular client of the one or more clients includes relationships linking one or more decorative logos associated with the particular clients to one or more of the promotional products, the relationships including a mapping of which of the one or more decorative logos are to be used to decorate which of the images of the one or more promotional products included in the composite images in the virtual catalog generated for the particular client.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein at least one of the relationships linking a given decorative logo to a given one of the promotional products includes instructions regarding a particular color to be used for the decorative logo in relation to a particular color for the given one of the promotional products.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of composite images generated using warping information to warp the decorative image onto the image of the promotional product.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the server includes a product database operable to store product information associated with at least one of the plurality of promotional products, and including at least one product image file depicting an image of the at least one promotional product.

12. A network based transaction system comprising:

a server coupled to a network;

at least one client device coupled to the server through the network;

the server coupled to a product image database storing product information and a plurality of stored images of promotional products including a base product operable to be decorated using a decorative image;

the server coupled to a logo database storing image files including image files having a default logo associated with each particular one of a plurality of clients; and

the server coupled to a customer database storing customer information associated with each particular one of the plurality of clients;

wherein the server is operable to determine which particular one of the plurality of clients is requesting access to the server, and to generate a customized virtual catalog for the particular one of the plurality of clients requesting access to the server, the customized vital catalog including at least one composite image having an image of one of the promotional products decorated with the default logo associated with the particular client requesting the access.

13. The network based transaction system of claim 12, wherein one or more portions of the generated customized virtual catalog are communicated to the network using a web server included within the server and coupled to the network.

14. The network based transaction system of claim 12, wherein the server includes a compositing engine operable to render the composite images included in the customized virtual catalog based on relationships linking client information associated with the particular client requesting access to a plurality of sets of product information.

15. The network based transaction system of claim 12, wherein the at least one client device is operable to display one or more portions of the generated customized virtual catalog on a display included in the at least one client device.

16. The network based transaction system of claim 12, wherein the client device is operable to receive inputs at the client device, and to transmit the inputs from the client device through the network to the server, the inputs operable to edit one or more of the composite images being displayed at the client device as part of the generated customized virtual catalog.

17. The network based transaction system of claim 16, wherein the inputs include inputs for editing the manufacturing process used as a filter in the composite image for the application of the default logo to the image one of the promotional products.

18. The network based transaction system of claim 16, wherein the inputs include using a positioning grid to receive inputs for editing the positioning of the decorative logo on the image of one of the promotional products in the composite images being displayed at the client device.

19. The network based transaction system of claim 12, wherein the inputs includes a request to place an order for one or more promotional products decorated as depicted in the generated customized virtual catalog for the particular client.

20. The network based transaction system of claim 12, wherein the generated customized virtual catalog includes generating composite images for a plurality of promotional products, each of the promotional products included in the composite images being decorated with a default logo associated with the particular client requesting access to the customized virtual catalog.

21. A method comprising:

storing one or more images, each of the one or more images including an image of a promotional product, wherein each of the promotional products included in the images are operable to be decorated by application of a decorative logo;

storing one or more default decorative logos, each of the default decorative logos associated with a particular client of a plurality of clients, and each of the default decorative logos operable to be applied as a decoration at least one of the one or more of the promotional products;

receiving from the particular client a request to view a customized virtual catalog including the plurality of promotional products; and

applying a default decorative logo associated with the particular client to at least one of the images of the plurality of promotional products to generate a customized virtual catalog for the particular client including a composite image of the default decorative logo applied to the at least one of the images of the plurality of promotional products.

22. The method of claim 21, including displaying the customized virtual catalog to the particular client, including using a web server to communication one or more portions of the customized virtual catalog over a network to a client device having a display.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein applying the default decorative logo associated with the particular client to at least one of the images of the plurality of promotional products includes generating the customized virtual catalog using a set of relationships linking a client information associated with the particular client to a plurality of product information blocks.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein receiving from the particular client the request to view the customized virtual catalog includes identifying the particular client through a login used to access the customized virtual catalog.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein receiving from the particular client the request to view the customized virtual catalog includes identifying a particular client device to determine which particular client is requesting the access to the customized virtual catalog.

26. The method of claim 21, further including editing a selected one of the composite images provided as part of the customized virtual catalog, including substituting a different logo in place of the decorative logo provided in the composite image included in the selected one of the composite images.

27. The method of claim 26, further including saving the edited selected one of the composite images by saving a relationship that links the substituted and different logo with the promotional product included in the selected one of the composite images.

28. The method of claim 21, further including calculating one or more prices for decorated promotional products present in the customized virtual catalog based on the selection of a manufacturing process used to apply the decorative image to an actual promotional product, the actual promotional product being depicted by the image of the decorated promotional product in the composite image.

29. The method of claim 21, further including exiting the customized virtual catalog including saving to a client information block some type of client information associated with the particular client exiting the customized virtual catalog, the client information including a history of which of the composite images were viewed by the particular client during the most recent access to the customized virtual catalog by the particular client.

30. A machine-readable medium comprising a computer memory storing instructions, which when implemented by one or more processors perform the following operations:

storing one or more images, each of the one or more images including an image of a promotional product, wherein each of the promotional products included in the images are operable to be decorated by application of a decorative logo;

storing one or more default decorative logos, each of the default decorative logos associated with a particular client of a plurality of clients, and each of the plurality of default decorative logos operable to be applied as a decoration to at least one of the one or more of the promotional products;

receiving from the particular client a request to view a customized virtual catalog including the plurality of promotional products;

applying a default decorative logo associated with the particular client to at least one of the images of the plurality of promotional products to generate the customized virtual catalog for the particular client including a composite image of the default decorative logo applied to the at least one of the images of the plurality of promotional products.

31. The machine-readable medium of claim 30, including:

communicating the generated customized virtual catalog over a network to a client device coupled to the network; and

displaying one or more portions of the generated customized virtual catalog on a display included in the client device.

32. The machine-readable medium of claim 30, wherein applying the default decorative logo associated with the particular client to at least one of the images of the plurality of promotional products includes:

apply the default decorative logo to the images of the plurality of promotional products based on relationships linking client information associated with the particular client to the plurality of promotional products.